Cleaning out my closet

Ravi Johal and I have more in common than the same date of birth. We both worked as sate Assembly interns during our undergraduate years for politicians who have had some recent PR problems. Johal ended up with the future Minuteman Bill Morrow, he said, because most of the other internship openings in Sacramento had been filled.

I was assigned to Hon. Anthony Seminerio, a former corrections officer from Queens. Tony will always have a special place in my heart as the man who signed an Assembly proclamation honoring my childhood cat, Tika, on her 12th birthday.

May 1, 1996 was Tika Artz Day in New York State. They told me it was official, just like the proclamation Tony signed for his favorite Italian restaurant. I framed Tika’s proclamation and brought it with me to California. It’s still on my wall.